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Messages - LPM606

#16
Jeep Talk / Re: Public Meeting on Oakland County ORV Park
December 06, 2017, 09:58:15 PM
I was at the meeting today along with Fellow members Paul Hittie, Jeremy Richert and Ken Feusse  and a veritble who's who of the Off-roading community in Michigan.  I spoke during the public comments Period for myself and the club noting we are a family oriented group out on the trails in Michigan and beyond at least once per month, that we travel as far as 9 hours+ to enjoy this recreation with our families, and that the excellent Oakland county park system (which includes family friendly venues such as water parks, campgrounds and dog parks) would be well served catering to another family oriented user group.  I let them know that we defy the defy the "Beer swilling Redneck" Stereotype that seems to be so deeply entrenched in the public mind!  See Notes from GLFWDA's FB page below:

RV Update round December 6th

To all of you who attended the Parks Commission meeting, thank you for making the time to attend. For many of you, I know it was a long drive and a sacrifice of vacation and/or personal time. Many of you came up to speak to me and I appreciate the kind words. I was not able to spend any time chatting, and I apologize for that. No slight was intended.

So many of you are thanking me for this, and you have it backwards. I'm just the poor sap who typed out a cry for help. YOU FOLKS are the people who deserve the thanks. Every one of you who spoke, sat in a chair, stood along the wall or drove your rig made a HUGE IMPRESSION on the commissioners and their staff. Keep in mind that they have NEVER NEVER NEVER had this large of a turnout for any issue, let alone that everyone who was there was in support of the park. No opposition, no disagreements, but rather a strong showing of family, camaraderie, friendship and a sincere willingness to help.

The number reported to me was between 300-325 in attendance, NOT INCLUDING the board members. WOW!!!So what does this mean to you and the future of the ORV park? I'm seeing some misleading posts so let me try to clarify.

There are two distinct things to be aware of.

1) The vote today does not mean that the county is moving forward with the park. It means that the county has agreed to enter into studies and negotiations with the DNR to "POSSIBLY" operate the park. This negotiation will result in an OPERATING LEASE AGREEMENT between the county and the state. Think of it like buying a house. You may go out and get pre-approved for a loan and sign on with a real estate agent, but you haven't agreed to buy a house yet. You are just shopping. The county voted to officially shop.

2) The DNR owns the land and has the intention to open an ORV park hopefully operational in late 2018. So what if they cannot develop an operating agreement with the County? The state will have to go back to the drawing board to determine how the park should be operated.

So you may say "so why was it so important for me to take a vacation day if nothing really happened?". Here is why. If the county had backed out today, the state really doesn't have a backup plan. It would have stalled, for how long, I don't know. Instead, YOU gave the county the confidence that this is a good thing.
Paul Hittie and I stayed to meet with Jason Fleming of the DNR and Jon Noyes from Oakland County. You all heard Jason say he wants to get things rolling. Our meeting was to discuss how to move forward with volunteers who will be part of a planning group. Jason is going to work out a format and present it to us for review. More to follow on that but realize we may not see anything till after the new year.
We broke up about 4:30 which is about the time the commission meeting broke up. We ended up talking with some of the commissioners and staff. They told us over and over that we did a great job, they were impressed with the crowd and the turnout and that we definitely made a positive impression. They were very impressed with the diversity, the distance people drove to be here and the show of dedication.

Great job everyone!
#17
The Lounge / Re: Our Thanksgiving Tradition
December 04, 2017, 10:25:02 PM
Club members that didn't make it to the mounds on thanksgiving, consider donating a few bucks at the next meeting we will add that to our total donation to set a new record for this year!
#18
The Lounge / Our Thanksgiving Tradition
November 24, 2017, 12:04:55 PM
We have a lot of newer club members that may not know the history of our Moundsgiving event and of course a lot of folks come check out our website in the days after to see more info and find out how we did, so I thought I would provide a little background/recap here for everyone:

Back in 2007 the club discussed trying to sponsor an event at the Mounds on Thanksgiving day since there was such a crowd out there.  After some discussion at the meetings we decided to just set up at the pavilion and do sort of a "meet and greet" to introduce our club to the hundreds of folks that come through the park on Turkey Day.  We spent $50 on coffee, hot cocoa and snacks to give out at our "Warming Hut" and we met a lot of great folks.  Many people were willing to pay for their drinks and snacks and we told them they were all compliments of the club but - after many insisted on leaving us a couple bucks we wound up putting out a bucket for donations to Whaley's Children's Center.  We were surprised to find $69.00 in the bucket at the end of the day and we passed that money along to Whaley's.

The following year we did the event as a hat and glove drive to benefit the kids at Whaley's and were delighted to receive 100 hats and 81 pairs of gloves along with assorted scarves, jackets and other items. 

In 2009 we partnered with The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan and rebranded our Thanksgiving event as "Wheeling Against Hunger".  We put the word our to our friends in the off-roading community to bring their donations of non-perishable food items to the Mounds on the big day.  Many cups of Coffee & cocoa and plenty of no-bake cookies and other goodies were provided by the club for those dropping off their donations and we got to talk to many great people about this great sport and our club.  That first year was the largest food total we ever collected - 575 lbs of food donated and $331 in cash donations were passed on to the Food Bank.

Since then we have continued to show up every year at the mounds.  Our club members are there by 6:00 in the morning to set-up and get coffee started for the folks that are inevitably already lined up at the park and we stay into the afternoon so people can warm up when they take a break, haul a rig out for repairs, etc.  Our Grand total as of our 9th year of "wheeling against hunger" comes to $4,972.64 and 2,232 lbs of food donated.  Here is the breakdown:

2017 - $960.78 and 224 lbs of food
2016 - $546.95 and 171 lbs of food
2015 - $974.26 and 173 lbs of food
2014 - $485.77 and 190 lbs of food
2013 - $562.67 and 118 lbs of food
2012 - $333.00 and 333 lbs of food
2011 - $620.00 and 238 lbs of food
2010 - $158.21 and 210 lbs of food
2009 - $331.00 and 575 lbs of food

Thanks to all the club members who have been involved in this over the years and thanks especially to the amazing folks in the off-roading community who show up every year and give generously to this worthwhile cause.  You can find out more about the foodbank, and make a donation, here:

https://www.fbem.org/



#19
Trail Rides / Re: Winter Wheeling
November 22, 2017, 07:41:22 AM
Yes, we switched to Bundy Hill to do their toy drive 7 drive the racetrack!
#20
Introductions / Re: I finally got another one.
November 20, 2017, 07:02:52 PM
We changed December 2nd to Bundy Hill due to the toy drive they are doing that day... We will have to catch you then next time we head up to R&V's!

#21
Trail Rides / Winter Wheeling
November 15, 2017, 09:34:50 AM
Yes, we still play in the snow!  Here at What Lies Beyond Jeep Club of Michigan we love to get out for some great snow wheeling over the winter!  Upcoming club runs include a trip to Rocks & Valley's ORV Park the first weekend of December, an event in January back in Grayling, MI, and our traditional Last Sunday in February run is on the calendar with a decision about exactly where we will land for that event forthcoming. 

Interested in any of these events?  Guests are generally welcome PM me for details. 
#22
Jeep Talk / Public Meeting on Oakland County ORV Park
November 14, 2017, 08:14:53 AM
Here is a message from Jim Kitson that was posted on the GLFWDA FB page.  Lets see if we can't get a bunch of us in our Club shirts at this meeting and any other friends in the ORV community as well!  See the GLFWDA page for exact details.

To all my wheeling friends, it's time to poop or get off the pot;
For those of you that have shown interest in the Oakland County ORV park, now's the time. Many people have said "let me know how I can help". Well, we did that last month for the Oakland County Board of Commissioner's meeting and we had a whopping 25 people show up. LAME (and many thanks to those of you that did) But for those that didn't, we need your help.
On Wednesday December 6, 2017 @ 1:00 pm, there is a Parks Commission meeting. At this meeting, they will be discussing and hopefully voting to move forward with discussions with the MDNR. Realize what this means....... at this time, they have not even decided if they want to participate in an ORV park. They have had lots of discussions and meetings but have NEVER officially gotten on board.
So, this is one of the meetings we need to Flood with people and we need YOU!
Now for those of you that will say that you work during the day, I ask you how important is this ORV park to YOU?
Have you ever taken a half day off to leave early to head north for the weekend?
Have you ever taken a half day off to get out on the lake?
Have you ever taken a half day off to go golfing?
Have you ever taken a half day off to do some chores at home?
Have you ever taken a half day off to get out on the slopes?
The list is endless but the point is, if YOU WANT IT, and IT'S IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO YOU, YOU HAVE MADE THE TIME.
So, I'm calling you guys out, do you want this or not and are you really willing to go the extra mile? PLEASE make the effort to show up and ask your wheeling friends to make the effort. My goal is to have so many people show up that the parking lot is packed and there are people standing outside in the lobby.
THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO HELP!
Now that you have made the commitment to attend, please plan to speak during the public comment. This happens at the beginning of the meeting. You don't have to say anything other than "I support the ORV park" or "I agree with him" or whatever. What is important is this; STATE YOUR NAME AND WHERE YOU ARE FROM
#23
Introductions / Re: I finally got another one.
November 13, 2017, 04:43:22 PM
The club is back up at RV's  on December 2nd if you are interested in hooking up with us....
#24
Introductions / Re: I finally got another one.
November 11, 2017, 09:19:59 PM
Awesome!  That took a second but then it clicked!  Come see us tomorrow - meeting at Elwood's in Burton (Formerly Bubba O'Malley's) Wheeling at the mounds in the afternoon you/it are up for it!
#25
Introductions / Re: Reintroduction after 8 years
November 07, 2017, 07:37:06 AM
Thanks for coming back to check us out again!  We'll see you Sunday. Probably hitting the mounds before the meeting if you are interested...
#26
Introductions / Re: Looking to join the club!
November 07, 2017, 07:35:03 AM
Hi Wendy! Thanks for coming to check us out. 
#27
Tech Talk / Re: Broken Shock Mount- Need help!
September 07, 2017, 07:41:25 PM
I am sure you found Unlimited Offroad Center in Fenton.  The owner, Adam Shoemaker is a great guy and he has a shop that can do anything you need done, I'm sure.  I am not the best mechanic in the group but I have basic tools in the Jeep and could swing by after work tomorrow if you are still looking for a hand.  Give me a call at 734-620-6637.  This is Ed Schroeder, I'm the club President. 
#28
Tech Talk / Re: Detroit locker in daily driver??
August 27, 2017, 06:49:58 PM
We had the powertrax no-slip in the rear of Julies liberty that was a DD... I believer they are similar to the Detroit locker... we never had any issue..
#29
The Lounge / Re: CPR/First Aid training
June 23, 2017, 08:03:34 AM
I would do it, but need to know dates/times before I could commit...
#30
I guess similar to the Blessing - they put up a pretty gnarly obstacle course from what I heard last year...  I suspect I will sit this one out... too much on the calendar already...